Rotary fluid handling device



June 4, 1968 K. EICKMANN ROTARY FLUID HANDLING DEVICE Filed Aug. 9, 196633 [60 I6 l l4 |6b 33 mvsmox I KARL EICKMANN ATTORNEY United StatesPatent Claims. oi. 103-136) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The rotor of avane machine has a central portion and side walls of greater diameter. Aslot extends through the central portion and partly into the side wallsso that the v'anes of a pair of vanes can be alternately fully retractedinto the center portion, or fully advanced out of the same in radialdirection.

This is a continuation in part of my copending patent application S.N.292,217 of July 2, 1963, now matured into Patent 3,274,945.

The present invention relates to liquid-or gas-handling rotary fluidhandling devices, such 'as hydraulic or pneumatic pumps or motors,compressors, gears, or internal combustion engines, in which the vane orvanes which together with the machine housing or rotary housing ring androtor and rotor side walls enclose the work chambers, are slideablymounted in a slot or slots which are provided in the rotor and sidewalls which 'are rotatable with the rotor. Y

The vane or vanes of the machine are extended axially beyond the actualrotor width; the axial ends of the rotor are provided with rotor sidewalls which are secured to or integral with the actual rotor and aretherefore rotatable therewith and which project radially outward beyondthe actual rotor, i.e., the central part thereof; the slot or slots inthe rotor are extended intothe rotor side walls and at least one of thelongitudinal walls of each slot in the rotor and rotor side wallspreferably forms a plane rigid surface, and each vane has at least onelongitudinal surface which is preferably also plane and slideableradially or nearly radially on at least one preferably plane wall of theslot in the rotor and both rotor side Walls.

If the fluid handling device conforms to the above definition then thevanes cannot tilt since they are supported on therotor-sidew'all-slot-walls and they can exit radially far out of thecentral rotor portion without losing their stable guidance.

It is an object of the present invention to seal the individual workingchambers of such fluid handling device tightly and by simple means andalso to obtain large chambers with large displacement volumes by meansof long vane strokes, so that the device is able to work with largefluid volumes and with a high output, and operates at a high rate ofefficiency.

The extremely long vane stroke of the invention can be materialized byextending the slot radially and diametrically entirely through the rotorcenter portion and also radially therebeyond within the rotor sidewalls. The radial length of the vane can then be made almost as long asthe diameter of the rotor central portion.

The above mentioned, as well as numerous other features and advantagesof the present invention will become more clearly apparent from thefollowing detailed description of several preferred embodiments thereofwhich is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich for making the invention more easily understood, those parts ofthe different embodiments ICC which have similar functions or serve thesame purpose are identified by the same reference numerals.

The parts which are conventional in the art are hereafter not describedin detail since this would render the description too prolix and wouldnot aid in understanding the important features of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 shows a longitudinal section of a fluid handling deviceaccording to the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a cross section which is taken along the line lI--II ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a longitudinal section which is taken along the lineIlIIII of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 4 shows a longitudinal section of a modification of the rotoraccording to the invention.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the machine rotor consists of acentral rotor part 1 and a pair of rotor side walls 2 and 3. The centralpart 1 is located between the two rotor side walls 2 'and 3 and has asmaller outer diameter than the latter. The rotor side walls 2 and 3preferably extend at right angles to the rotor axis, and

they project radially outwards beyond the central rotor part '1.

The central rotor part 1 and the two side walls 2 and 3 are preferablyprovided with radial slots 5 which extend parallel to the rotor axis andproject into the rotor side walls 2 and 3 by axial extensions 5a and 5b,respectively. Although it is possible to provide the rotor with only oneof these slots several such slots are occasionally provided. Suchheretofore described arangement of the rotor slots is already disclosedin my previous U.S. Patent No. 2,975,716.

According to the present invention, the extensions 5a and 5b of theseslots 5 are not extended in the axial direction entirely through therotor side walls 2 and 3, but only into the portions thereof which areattached to or integral with the central rotor part 1, so that axiallyoutside of the mentioned slot extensions 5a and 5b, solid side wallportions remain which are attached to or integral with the rotor andclose the slot extensions 5a and 5b in the axial direction. This resultsin a very great rigidity of the rotor since the walls of the rotorforming slots 5, 5a, 5b are thus prevented from yielding in a tangentialor circumferential direction. For producing the rotor slot 5 and theirextensions 5a and 51) it is preferred to make them radially from theoutside into the central rotor part 1 and into the side walls 2 and 3thereof, for example, by milling, pressing, casting, or other suitablemethods. In order to permit this work to be carried out and thelongitudinal walls of the slots to be properly and accurately made, theends of the slot extensions 5a and 5b are preferably provided withintersecting grooves 6 between which the tools may then produce theslots with perfectly plane Wall surfaces since the intersecting grooves6 are wider in circumferential direction than slots 5, 5a, 5b. Theprovision of such grooves 6 permits such perfectly plane slot wallsurfaces to be produced even in a one-piece rotor, and not only in thecentral part one thereof but in the side walls 2 and 3 as well. This isso important because for the operation of the machine under highpressure, it is an absolute requirement that the slot Walls in thecentral rotor parts and in a part of the rotor side walls as well haveabsolutely plane surfaces. Prior to this invention no properconstruction was known which permitted the production of such plane slotwall in the rotors of machines in which the slots did not extend axiallyentirely through the rotor side Walls.

In another modification the slots extend in the side Walls very faroutwardly beyond the diameter of the rotor central member but in radialdirection not entirely through the rotor sidewalls.

In both embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-4, the rotor may consist either ofone piece of material or of several parts. The one-piece construction isespecially solid and therefore preferred. In a construction of severalparts which is not illustrated in the drawings, the parts may be securedto each other in any suitable manner. Shaft 4 may also be made integralwith the rotor or be flanged thereon in a conventional manner, forexample, by being screwed thereon. It is in principle already known, forexample, from my U. S. Patent No. 2,975,716, to make the rotor and shafteither of one piece or of several parts.

According to the first embodiment of the invention as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the rotor is provided with a slot which extends radiallyentirely through the central rotor part 1 and the rotor side walls 2 and3, but through the latter only so far in the axial direction that a wallportion remains on each outside of the slot extensions 5a and 5b. Theintersecting grooves 6 also extend radially entirely through the rotorside walls. The rotor according to this embodiment of the invention hasthe advantage that it is extremely solid, especially since the centralpart 1 may be produced integrally with the rotor side walls 2 and 3 andwith shaft 4 or with a shaft end and a rear journal part, while theslots, for example, the slots 5, 5a, 5b and 6 may be very easilyproduced by means of broaching tools which may be drawn through therotor in the radial direction.

FIGURES 1 and 2 illustrate a rotary vane machine in which the slot 5,5a, 5b in the rotor 1 and its two side walls 2 and 3 contains two vanes9 and 10. The rotor 1 may be installed in a machine housing 11 dividedto permit its installation. The dividing line is not indicated in thedrawings since the division may be carried out in very many differentmanners. Thus, for example, the central part of the housing between thetwo rotor side walls 2, 3 may separate from the two parts 11a which maybe flanged thereon in the axial direction. Between the housing 11, rotor1, and the rotor side walls 2 and 3, a work chamber divided by vanes 9and into intervane spaces 12, 13 is formed. The necessary inlet andoutlet lines leading to the work chambers are not illustrated in thedrawings because they may be conventionally provided at various pointsof the housing or the rotor in accordance with the particular kind ofconstruction of the machine. They may, for example, be formed bychannels which are provided in the shaft and the rotor 1. At eachrevolution of the rotor, each of these two intervane spaces or workchambers has once a maximum volume and once a minimum volume, and thevolume varies periodically between these volumes while the rotorrevolves.

The vane slots and vanes may also be separated by an intermediate web19.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a rotary vane machine of a modified type.

The rotor 15 according to FIGS. 3 and 4 may also be employed in othertypes of rotary vane machines, for example, in liquid driven machines,such as oil engines, pumps, or the like, compressors or rotarycombustion engines.

Rotor 15 is rotatably mounted in the engine housing 14 and has radialslots 16 which are connected with each other by a central bore 17 andare extended into the rotor side walls 15a and 15b in the form of theslot extensions 16a and 16b. These slots are arranged so that theopposite slots are offset by the width of one slot relative to eachother in the peripheral direction. In the slots, vanes 18 and 19 areguided which slide along the inner guide surface 14a of the housing whenthe rotor revolves within the housing. Together with the rotor 15, thehousing 14, and the rotor side walls 15a, 15b, vanes 18, 19 form workchambers 20 and 21 which alternately increase and decrease in volume asthe rotor revolves and which are connected to an inlet and an outlet,not shown.

The distinguishing features of the embodiment of the invention as shownin FIGURES 3 to 4 consists primarily in the fact that, the diametricallyopposite slots do not lie within the sample plane but are offsetrelative to each other so that only one wall surface of each slot lieswithin a common diametrical plane with the other wall surface of theopposite slot. The diametrically opposite slots are therefore cut out inopposite directions from this common radial plane. Such an arrangementhas the advantage that, when vanes 18 are located in a chamber of smallvolume, these vanes can enter deeply into their respective slots in therotor 15 that is, so far, that two diametrically opposite vanes 18 willslide on each other. The diametrically opposite slots then have surfaceslocated in a common plane, so that a front wall of one and a rear wallof the other slot lie within a common plane. The opposite slots may,however, also be arranged so that an intermediate web remains betweenthem. As the result of the arrangement of the slots it is possible thattwo diametrically or nearly diametrically opposite vanes can pass intothe rotor at the same time without interfering with each other, while atthe same time a large vane stroke of a size equal to nearly the diameterof the central rotor part and of the same length is attained.

.Although in the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 4 there are twovanes provided, it is also possible to provide a greater number ofvanes. At least one vane 18 or 19 and its extensions 18a, 18b or 19a,21% engages with one of its longitudinal surfaces on one of thelongitudinal slot walls, that is, the main part of the vane withintheslot 16- of the central rotor part and the axial extensions 18a, 18b or19a, 1% slot walls of the slot extensions 16a and 1611.

It is also possible to employ vanes of a thickness substantiallycorresponding to the width of the slots. In this case, both longitudinalvane surfaces can engage with both slot walls and seal the same. Widerintersecting grooves 33 are provided at the ends of the slots.

The main feature of the invention is, that a maximal large vane strokeand thereby displacement volume during a revolution of the rotor ismaterialized. The maximum of vane stroke and displacement volume isobtained by using two vanes of a radial length almost equal to thediameter of the rotor central member. Those two vanes are then locatedin one or in two parallel rotor slots. As closely visible from FIGURES 2and 3 the vanes or each one of them can completely enter into the rotor,so that it is completely received within the slot means within theradial dimension of the outer diameter of the rotor central part. On theother hand each vane can perform a vane stroke of almost the radialextension of the vane. Thus, the vane stroke can become almost as largeas the outer diameter of the central part of the rotor. Therelationratio between displacement or stroke and rotor-diameter becomesalmost 1:1. In the past it was usually only 1210 or little more. Theradial section through the displacement action of a working chamber ofthe invention is almost in a ratio 1:1 to the longitudinal section ofthe rotor. Consequently the displacement volume of the device of theinvention is almost 10 times larger than in conventional vane machines.

It is known from a publication by Prof. Schloesser and Olderaan, EineAnalogontheorie der Antrieb mit rotierender Bewegung, Oil Hydraulic undPneumatik or other publications, that every rotary machine has a power Nwhich is equal to h=radial length through annular voluminosity body:

vane stroke.

By the above equation the power of all rotary devices can be compared.Therefrom it follows:

The larger h=(r r is, the greater is the power of a machine of a givenrotor diameter, rotor length, and pressure.

In all heretofore known former art or references the vane stroke (r -rwas more or less than /2 of the central portion of the rotor diameterand in conventional vane devices less or about one-tenth.

Due to this present invention now a vane stroke almost as large as thetotal diameter of the central portion of the rotor means has beenachieved.

The ratio h:r (r -r 21- becomes almost 1:1. Thus, the device of thepresent invention materializes the most of displacement volume of allkinds of rotary fluid handling devices and .at the same time tightsealing of the individual working chambers is maintained by the valvelike seal of bearing the vanes on slot 'wall faces.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with referencesto the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood thatit is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but iscapable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim 1. In a rotaryfluid handling device, a machine rotor having a central part and a sideWall axially on eachside of said central part and radially projectingtherefrom; said rotor having at least one substantially radial slottherein extending diametrically through said central part betweenopposite portions of the periphery of the same, and into said sidewalls, said slot being open at the periphery of said rotor and extendingsubstantially radially along its whole axial length into said rotor butterminating in the axial direction within said side walls, said slotbeing adopted to receive a rectangular sliding vane having a widthsubstantially equal to the diameter of said central rotor part, at leastone of the longitudinal Walls of said slot having a plane slidingsurface limiting said slot and adapted to engage with and guide saidsliding vane and radially extending intersecting grooves provided on theaxial ends of the slots in the side walls limiting the plane slidingsurface, said intersecting grooves being wider in circumferentialdirection than said-slots; and a casing enveloping said rotor and havingabutment means for reciprocating said vane during rotation of said rotorbetween a position located within said rotor slot, and an advancedposition located almost entirely outside of said central part andsupported at the ends thereof in the slot portions in said side walls.

2. In a rotary fluid handling device, a machine rotor having a centralrotor part and a rotor side wall axially on each side of said centralpart and rigidly secured thereto and radially projecting therefrom, saidrotor having at least one substantially radial slot therein extendingdiametrically through said central rotor part between opposite portionsof the periphery of the same and into said rotor side walls, said slotbeing open at the periphery of said rotor and extending substantiallyradially along its axial length in said rotor, but terminating in theaxial direction within said rotor side walls, said slot being adapted toreceive a pair of rectangular sliding vanes having a width substantiallyequal to the diameter of said central rotor part, the longitudinal wallsof said slot having plane sliding surfaces limiting said slot andadapted to engage with and guide said sliding vanes; and a casingenveloping said rotor and having abutment means for moving said vanesalternately between a retracted position located within said slot, andan advanced position located almost along the entire axial length andWidth thereof outside of the slot portion in said central rotor part,and supported at the ends thereof in the slot portions in said sidewalls.

3. The fluid handling device of claim 1 wherein said intersectinggrooves are provided between the walls of said slots.

4. In a rotary vane machine, a machine rotor having a central rotor partand a rotor side wall axially on each side of said central part andrigidly secured thereto and radially projecting therefrom, said rotorhaving at least two substantially radial slots therein substantiallyparallel to each other and extending through said central rotor partbetween opposite portions of the periphery of the same and-into saidrotor side walls, each of said slots being open at the periphery ofsaid'rotor and extending substantially radially along its axial lengthin said rotor, but terminating in the axial direction within said rotorside walls, each of said slots being adopted to receive a rectangularsliding vane having a width substantially equal to the diameter of saidcentral rotor part, at least one of the longitudinal walls of each ofsaid slots having a plane sliding surface limiting said slot and adaptedto engage with and guide one of said sliding vanes; and a casingenveloping said rotor and having abutment means for moving said vanesalternately between a retracted position located within said slot, andan advanced position located almost along the entire axial length andwidth thereof outside of the slot portion in said central rotor part,and supported at the ends thereof in the slot portions in said sidewalls.

5. In a rotary vane machine, a rotor as defined'in claim 4, having atleast two of said slots substantially parallel to and spaced from eachother so as to be separated by an intermediate web from each other.

6. In a rotary vane machine, a machine rotor having a central rotorpartand a rotor side wall axially on each side of said central part andrigidly secured thereto and radially projecting therefrom, said rotorhaving at least two opposite substantially radial slots thereindiametrically extending through said central rotor part between oppositeportions of the periphery of the same and into said rotor side Walls,said two slots being open at substantially diametrically opposite sidesof the periphery of said rotor and extending substantially radiallyalong their axial length in said rotor, but terminating in the axialdirection within said rotor side walls, said two slots being paralleland olfset to each other by a distance substantially equal to the widthof one of said slots so that each of said opposite slots has onelongitudinal wall disposed substantially within the same plane as thecorresponding longitudinal wall of the opposite slot, each of said slotsbeing adapted to receive a rectangular sliding vane having a widthsubstantially equal to the diameter of said central rotor part", eachslot having a plane sliding surface engaging with and adapted to guideone of said vanes, said tWo vanes adapted to slide along each other whenmoving radially toward and away from each other within said centralrotor part; and a casing enveloping said rotor and having abutment meansfor moving said vanes alternately between a retracted position locatedwithin said slot, and an advanced position located almost along theentire axial length and width thereof outside of the slot portion insaid central rotor part, and supported at the ends thereof in the slotportions in said side Walls.

7. A displacement device comprising a vane guiding body, a closure bodyand housing means for hearing said bodies for rotary movement of one ofsaid bodies relatively to the other of said bodies;

said vane guiding body having a central portion and end portions, saidend portions extending radially beyond said central portion, innermostfaces provided on said end portions for partially embracing the endfaces of the closure body which is partially contained between said endmembers of said vane guiding body and closes a working chamber betweensaid central portion and said end portions of said vane guiding body andsaid closure body; said closure body having a closure face for definingand verifying the radial distance relatively to the vane guiding body;passage means through one of said bodies for passing mattertherethrough;

at least one recess extending into and in radial direction substantiallydiametrically through the vane guiding body and forming partially atleast a pair of slot means; each of said slot means extending throughthe center portion between opposite portions of the periphery of thesame and into both end portions of said vane guiding body and said slotmeans being extended in substantially one radial direction to andthrough the radial outer face of the central portion and both endportions of said vane guiding body; said slot means forming guide faceson longitudinal walls of the slot portions in the end portions of thevane guiding body; at least one rectangular vane having a widthsubstantially equal to the diameter of said central rotor part locatedin each of said slot means for substantial radial movement therein andfor dividing said working chamber into a plurality of intervane spaceswhich periodically increase and decrease their volume for taking in andexpelling matter during operation of the device; said vanes havingsealing portions for partially sliding engage ment with the closure faceof the closure body, having end portions on both axial ends for beingreceived and guided each one on a guide face on a longitudinal wall ofthe slot means in the respective end portion of said vane guiding bodyand having a pair of longitudinal plane faces extending substantiallyover the whole length of the vane;

the vanes partially entering into said diametrically extending recessportion and moving therein radially towards each other or away from eachother when the machine operates and the diametrically extending slotportion being formed to constitute a guide for the pair of vanes so thatone face of a pair of longitudinal plane faces of each vane of a pair ofvanes engages partially a guide face on a slot wall in the vane guidingbody and so that both vanes of said pair of vanes are relatively to eachother located so that the other faces of each pair of longitudinal planefaces of the pair of vanes, at least sometimes engage each other andmove partially through the axis of the vane guiding body when the deviceoperates; said housing means having abutment means for moving said vanesalternately between a retracted position located within said slot means,and an advanced position located almost along the entire axial lengthand Width thereof outside of the slot portion in said central part, andsupported at the ends thereof in the slot portions in said end members.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the vanes are extending with almosttheir entire radial extension out of the central portion of the vaneguiding body during their most outward location during operation of thedevice, and are located entirely in said central portion in theirinnermost position.

9. In a rotary fluid handling device, in combination, a rotor having acentral rotor part and a pair of rotor side walls at the ends of saidcentral rotor part and having a greater diameter than the same so as toradially project therefrom, said rotor having at least one slotextending diametrically entirely through said central rotor part betweenperipheral portions of the same, and also extending into the confrontingsurfaces of said side Walls, but terminating in axial direction withinsaid rotor side walls; at least one rectangular vane having a widthsubstantially equal to the diameter of said central rotor portion and anaxial length equal to the axial length of said slot, and being mountedin said slot for movement between a position fully retracted into saidcentral rotor part and an advanced position located almost entirelyoutside of said central part while having the ends thereof located inthe portions of said slot in said confronting surfaces of said sidewalls so that said vane is supported at the ends thereof; and a casingenveloping said rotor and said vane and having abutment means engaged bysaid vane during rotation of said rotor so that said vane isreciprocated between said retracted and advanced positions.

10. The apparatus claimed in claim 9 comprising two vanes; wherein theportions of said slot in said confronting surfaces of said side wallslocated on opposite sides of said central rotor part, arecircumferentially staggered and have substantially half the Width of theportion of the slot in said central rotor part for slidably guiding theends of said vanes, said slot portion in said central rotor part havinga width corresponding to the thickness of said two vanes in superposedposition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,802 7/1894 Rohlf 1031371,626,510 4/1927 Chase 103137 2,334,763 11/1943 Hawkins 103-l372,899,903 8/1959 Ryder 103-137 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,667 1905 GreatBritain.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Primary Examiner.

